Embracing The Darkness
by Kennedy11035
Summary: Descendants 3 didn't happen. There was a prophecy telling of a powerful being that would rise from the line of the most evil. Who would defeat those who destroyed him. Manny is the son of Ben and Mal who comes across a difficult time and snaps. Will the long forgotten prophecy finally come true?
1. Chapter 1

**This is a new Descendants story. The OCs Meghan is Anonymousettes, the OCs Manny, Rayner, Alan, Pies, and Quaid are mine. Everything else is Disneys. I take suggestions, so if you have any feel free to tell me. I hope you all enjoy this. **

Chapter 1

"Manny!" Mal yelled.

Manny came downstairs, "All ready," he announced.

"That was fast." Mal said, taking her sons glasses and cleaning them.

"Well, it is my first day of high school and I need to be there on time, so…you know." Manny trailed off.

Mal handed over the glasses before wrapping her son in a tight hug. "Are you sure you'll be okay in high school? I can still tell Jane to put you back in middle school if you want."

"I'll be fine Mom, don't worry," Manny said. "And I can't go to middle school if I've already graduated."

"I know, I guess it's just the mom thing to do." Mal laughed. "Now let's get some breakfast, then I'll take you to school."

"Where's Dad, Meggie, and Rayner?" Manny asked as the mother and son walked down the hallway.

"Your father has an early meeting in Arendale, and your siblings wanted to get to school really early." Mal explained. "But they promised me that they'd meet you before school."

"Okay," Manny said.

Later Mal dropped her son off at Auradon Prep, telling him that she loved him, and that she'd see him after school. As Manny started off towards the school, he heard someone call his name.

"Manny!" The voice called. Manny looked around to pinpoint the voice. Soon Rayner was standing next to him. "Hey little bro, welcome to high school."

"Is it going to be hard?" Manny questioned.

Rayner laughed. "Not for someone as smart as you are. Now for me, sometimes it's harder." This made Manny smile.

"Yeah Ray, hows those C's, D's and F's?" Meghan inquired, walking up to them.

"You know that F and D just stand for fine and dandy. I haven't gotten an F yet. " Rayner reminded. Meghan rolled her eyes. "And I'm turning over a new leaf this year."

"Anyway, what's your locker number, Manny?" Meghan asked.

"2047." Manny answered.

"Okay, let's start there and walk through your schedule from there." Meghan suggested. "So you know where everything is."

"Sounds great." Manny said.

"I've got to go meet up with my friends, but I'll see you guys later." Rayner told them. Manny waved to him.

The first class of the day was math and Manny found it really easy, but he had always found math easy. After math class he walked to homeroom. This is where Manny first met Alan Charming and his minions. Manny sat at a desk doing his math homework when a shadow formed over the paper.

"Hey Four Eyes, find a new desk." Alan ordered.

"Why? I was here first." Manny argued.

"Because I said so Four Eyes. Now move." Alan growled.

Manny got up to move to another desk. Alan tripped him while he was walking past and Manny fell to the floor, his papers flew everywhere. Alan and his two minions laughed. Manny got off the floor and sighed. He started to pick up his papers.

"Here." Someone said, handing Manny some papers.

Manny looked up to see a boy with dark red hair. "Thanks." he took the papers back.

"No problem. Are you okay?" The boy asked.

"Yeah." Manny replied, sitting in the desk in front of the boy.

"My name's Piers by the way." The boy introduced, stretching his hand out.

"Manny." Manny shook his hand.

"Hey, I've known Alan for years, just ignore him." Piers said.

"I'll try, but it's not likely." Manny muttered.

Soon after homeroom was done. Manny went through classes and lunch, with only a problem in history and lunch, since Alan was with him then. At lunch Manny sat with Piers and another friend he had made, named Quaid.

The last class of the day was Manny's all time least favorite, gym. Since it was the beginning of the school year there had to be some tests in gym. Today was hight and weight, and push-ups.

Manny hated it, but it only got worse when Alan showed up. Not only was Manny the youngest person in his class, but also the smallest and shortest, which caused Alan to start calling him shorty. Manny was never good with physical strength so he didn't do very well with the push-ups.

"Looks like Shorty's also a weakling." Alan called out. Manny was tired of it, and fell back on the mat. Finally the last bell rang and Manny had never been so happy for school to end. He went home and his mom was waiting for him and his siblings.

"How was the first day of school?" Mal asked.

"It was good, tourney tryouts are next week." Rayner answered.

"I hope you make first goalie on varsity again." Mal told him.

"My day was good Mom." Meghan said simply.

Manny tried to get away to his room, but wasn't fast enough. "Manny, how was your day sweetie?" Mal repeated.

"I was great, nothing for you to worry about, just like I said." Manny gave a fake smile, trying to convince his mom that everything was fine.

It worked. "That's nice. Do you want a snack?" Mal questioned.

Manny declined the offer. "I'm not really hungry."

"But Mrs. Potts made a batch of your favorite cookies, M&M." Mal said.

Manny shook his head. "Thanks though." He ran up the stairs. Mal was left with her smile fading.

Manny went to his room, closing the door and throwing his backpack to the side. Manny walked over to the tank that sat on his dresser, picking up the turtle before gently drying him off. Then Manny laid on his bed with the turtle on his chest.

"Well Solitaire, high school is not as easy as I thought. It's not the classes, they're the easy part. It's this kid named Alan Charming. Of course he's the son of Chad and Audrey. I've never met the guy before in my life but he seems dead set on ruining my life. He has taken quite a liking to calling me Four Eyes and Shorty and Weakling. I mean he's two years older than me, you'd think he'd be more mature. Anyway, today wasn't all bad, I made two friends, Piers and Quaid, they're really cool. I just hope it gets better, it can't get any worse." Manny ranted to his turtle.

After a while of just lying there and thinking Manny got up and put Solitaire back in the tank and fed him. After, he started the rest of his homework. Manny was determined not to let Alan Charming bother him anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again, I'm back. The OC Meghan is Anonymousnette's, the OC's Manny, Alan, Piers, Quaid, and Marty are mine, and everything else is Disney's. I hope you all enjoy this new chapter. **

Chapter 2

A week had passed, and as much as Manny tried to not to let Alan bother him, it only got worse. Manny's second favorite class was Chemistry, and Alan was transferred into that class. It wasn't the worst, Piers was with him as well, and his lab partner.

"Shorty, give me your answers." Alan ordered. Manny ignored him. "I asked you to do something." Alan walked up to the table and ripped the worksheet out of Manny's hands.

"Hey!" Manny exclaimed.

"What are you going to do about it?" Alan asked.

"Leave him alone, Al." Piers said, coming up to him. Alan glared at him before handing the paper to Manny.

"You're lucky he came to save you." Alan growled.

Piers sat next to Manny and started working again. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Manny answered.

Piers looked over at his friend. For a moment he was afraid, his friend's green eyes glowed bright and the beaker of chemicals he was holding was boiling. "Manny." Piers called. Suddenly everything went back to normal. "What was that?"

"I don't know, that's never happened." Manny told him.

"Well, just try to calm down." Piers advised. He had never seen something like that before, he had no idea how to help.

Manny was scared, he didn't understand what had happened to him. It had never happened before. Alan continued to make fun of him, and it only made Manny angrier. Manny didn't tell anyone what was going on, he was afraid it would only get worse if he did. He only ever told Solitaire what happened.

A month had passed since the first day of school, it was a three day weekend, as there was no school on Monday. Manny was doing his homework, usually he would get it done on Friday, but he's been putting it off more and more as of late.

"Manny!" He heard his mother call.

Manny went downstairs to see what Mal wanted. "Hey, Mom, what do you need?" Manny stopped when he saw Alan Charming smiling at him.

"Manny, Audrey and I are having lunch together and she brought her son with her, I thought it would be a good idea if you two spent time in your room while we were eating." Mal explained.

"I'm doing my homework right now, I have quite a lot to do." Manny told her.

"You can finish your homework later." Mal said.

"But-" Manny started.

"Manny. Now go, it won't be that long." Mal instructed.

Manny sighed, but motioned for Alan to follow him. Alan ran faster than Manny did, getting to the prince's bedroom before the owner did.

"Oh look, it's Four Eyes's nerdy bedroom. And look, he really was doing his homework." Across the desk lay Manny's math worksheets.

Alan picked them up. "Stop Alan!" Manny cried out.

"Or what?" Alan taunted. He laughed as he tore the papers into tiny pieces and scattered them everywhere. "Guess you can't finish your homework now."

After two hours, two hours of torture to Manny, Audrey and Mal were done having lunch, and Alan left.

"That wasn't so bad, was it Manny?" Mal asked.

"No Mom, it was just...great." Manny lied.

The next day Manny sat in math class as his teacher came around checking in the assignments.

"Do you have your work, Prince Manny?" The teacher questioned.

"No." Manny replied. "I seem to have misplaced it."

"No?" The teacher repeated. "I'm surprised. I trust you'll make it up soon though."

Manny slouched in his seat. He wished Alan Charming could just disappear into thin air, then all his troubles would be solved, but not everything you wish for comes true.

Later, Manny, Piers, and Quaid were sitting together at lunch. "You, Manny, are missing an assignment in math?" Piers inquired.

"Yeah, Alan was at the castle yesterday, and my mom thought it would be a brilliant idea if Alan and I hung out in my room while they were eating, and he ripped up my math homework." Manny explained.

"That must have been awful to have him in your home." Quaid said.

Manny sighed. "The worst time of my life."

"I'm sorry, I still can't get over the fact that you're missing an assignment in math." Piers told him.

Just at that moment Alan and his minions walked past the three friends. Alan sprinkled some pieces of paper onto the table. "How'd you do on that assignment, Four Eyes?" Alan teased. The bully and the minions walked away. Manny slammed his head on the table. Piers went to get up to confront Alan.

"Stop Piers." Manny ordered.

"But, he can't just get away with this." Piers tried.

"I said leave him." Manny growled.

"Okay, as you wish." Piers turned around again after giving Alan one final glare. The friends ate in silence for the rest of lunch.

Manny sat in his room doing his homework, looking up when he heard a knock. "Hi." Manny greeted.

"Hey, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I heard that you didn't get your math homework done." Meghan told him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that high school is a lot harder to get used to than I had originally thought." Manny smiled.

"It gets better, trust me." Meghan promised.

"Thanks Meggie." Manny thanked her.

"Any time little brother." Meghan hugged Manny, which made him very happy.

Alan was relentless, the bullying just got worse. As the weeks went on, Manny stopped doing his homework, his grades started to slip, the straight A student he once was, was gone, he secluded himself from his friends and family. Manny was not the person he was before, he had changed, and not for the better.

The evil in Manny grew. In the middle of December, after a particularly bad day, Alan had dumped his entire lunch all over Manny, something snapped in Manny. He packed what he could and fled. He left nothing to inform his family where he had gone. He planned on never being found, ever.

There was only one place where Manny could think of going, where all the evil people in Auradon live, the Isle of the Lost. Manny passed through the barrier in the middle of the night and made his way to Bargain Castle.

Manny looked around Bargain Castle for a while when he heard someone call out. "Hello?" Maleficent has not lived in the crumbling castle in 18 years, but her son, Martin, still resided there. Manny followed the voice till he got to the room where his uncle was hiding.

"Hello, Martin." Manny addressed.

"Mom?" Marty asked.

"No, I'm your nephew, Manny." Manny answered.

"Mal and Ben's son." Marty said.

Manny rolled his eyes. 'Unfortunately."

'You know, I was so proud of Mal when she had chosen the path of good." Marty told him.

"I've found that my grandmother had such a better approach to life. Being good never gets you anywhere, you can do so much more being evil." Manny explained.

"No!" Marty shouted. "Turn back now, while you still can."

Manny laughed. "You are much more of a disappointment than I thought."

Manny left the room and walked onto the balcony as the sun was rising. He saw all the Isle before him, with Auradon in the background. Manny smiled. He took off his glasses, throwing them onto the ground before stomping on them, effectively breaking them.

Manny is gone now, and MJ has arrived.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello all, I hope you are doing well. Here is the next chapter of Embracing the Darkness. There is a hidden reference in this chapter, there as been in all the chapters so far, be it from my life, a TV show, ect., I want to know if anyone can figure out what it is, bonus points if you go back and figure out the other references. Anyway, the OC's Manny/MJ, Rayner, and Warner are mine, the OC Meghan is Anonymousettes, and everything else is Disney's. I hope you all enjoy. **

Chapter 3

In Auradon Rayner and Meghan came down for breakfast.

"Good morning, Mom." Meghan greeted her as she walked into the dining room.

"Morning Meg, how did you sleep?" Mal asked.

"Fine." Meghan answered. They sat down for breakfast, starting to eat when Mal looked up and realized that Manny was not there.

"Where is your brother?" Mal questioned.

"Haven't seen him, probably just running late today." Rayner suggested.

"That doesn't sound like Manny though. I'll be right back." Mal left the table and went upstairs to find Manny. "Manny! Manny, come on!" Mal looked around in the rooms. "Manning John! You have school soon!" Mal didn't get any answer and was getting worried. She searched in all the usual and then the unusual places.

Mal ran back downstairs. "Manny is missing." She announced. Rayner and Meghan shot up quickly from their chairs, sharing a glance with each other, then looking at their mother.

Meanwhile, MJ was walking the streets of the Isle looking for someone. He was a villain now, and every villain needs a sidekick. Near the Slop Shop MJ found the person he was looking for. Warner Ratcliffe-Tremaine was famous for being a good ally to have on the island, but refused to join any one person's gang.

"Hey." MJ said.

"Who are you?" Warner asked.

"My name is MJ." MJ introduced.

"No, you seem familiar." Warner told him. Warner studied MJ for a moment. "You're the prince!" He exclaimed. Suddenly Warner felt as if he was being lifted into the air. "Whoa! You have magic, but this is the Isle of the Lost."

"Yes, I have magic." MJ replied. "I am very powerful, not even the barrier can stop me."

"What do you want?" Warner questioned.

"I want you to join me." MJ said.

"Join you? As in be your sidekick? I don't work for anyone." Warner laughed.

"Don't think of it as a sidekick, think of it more as a right hand man. I need one, and my uncle isn't going to do it for me. Just think about it." MJ told him. "Now, soon my family will find out that I'm not there and will send the royal guards throughout the kingdom looking for me, including the Isle. If you spill it that I'm here, you know what's coming." Warner fell to the ground, watching MJ as he walked away.

Just as MJ had said the Royal guard was sent out, even to the Isle, but the search was unsuccessful. MJ used his magic to stay hidden, there was no way he was going back to Auradon.

Mal paced her husband's office, hoping that some good news would come. She stopped when she heard the door open. She turned to see Ben shake his head with sad eyes.

Mal started to cry. "I don't understand. What happened? Where did he go? Why? What did we do wrong?"

Ben quickly put his arms around his wife, hugging her tightly. "We didn't do anything wrong, there is some reason why Manny has vanished. We'll find him Mal, I promise."

"But they looked everywhere already." Mal reminded me.

"So we'll look again and again and again, till our son is found." Ben comforted. They stayed like that for a while more. They let their concern consume their thoughts.

Elsewhere in the castle Rayner and Meghan were talking about the current situation. They stayed home from school after they found out that Manny was gone.

"Has he acted weird to you?" Meghan inquired.

"A bit, he has seemed so distant recently, he never likes hanging out with me anymore, not here and especially at school." Rayner noted.

"I've been concerned about Manny for awhile now. I mean he's been getting grades that I didn't think were possible for him. They remind me of your grades." Meghan explained.

"Why didn't he ask us for help?" Rayner asked. "I know we aren't the greatest at school, but we do okay, surely we could handle some freshman level classes."

"Maybe he didn't think he could ask for help." Meghan suggested. "He has a reputation as the smart kid, asking for help would ruin his reputation."

Rayner leaned back in his chair. "I don't think that's it."

Hours passed since his encounter with MJ, but Warner couldn't stop thinking about it. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to finally team up with someone, especially someone as powerful as MJ has proven himself to be. But Warner didn't join anyones gang, it was his thing. The more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that joining MJ was a good idea. MJ was going to do things in the future, and Warner wanted to be part of that.

Warner made his ways through the streets to Bargain Castle. He knocked on the large doors. MJ answered, partly surprised that Warner was there. "Hey."

"Hello, come in." MJ told him. Warner followed MJ to the living room, he looked around, amazed that he was in Maleficent's house. "Is there a reason why you came over here?" MJ questioned.

Warner was shaken out of his thoughts "Yeah, I came to take you up on your offer. You still want a right hand man?"

MJ smiled, stretching out his hand. "Welcome, glad to have you." Warner stepped out of his comfort zone by joining MJ, but he felt that it was going to pay out, eventually.

In the early afternoon, when he knew no one was going to come to the Isle looking for him, MJ was going to make his first official appearance to the island, they were going to meet their new ruler very soon.

MJ walked out onto the balcony looking below at all the people. He glanced to the side where Warner was standing, giving him an encouraging smile. MJ took a deep breath, he was not worried that he would be recognized, he had changed his appearance, his hair was shorter, he wore contacts now, and he wore dark clothing.

"Hello people of the Isle, almost forty years ago you all were put on this Isle and the Mistress of All Evil, Maleficent, became your leader. But Maleficent was not powerful enough and she met her fate as a tiny lizard." MJ explained. "A new person has risen in her absence, a person even more evil and powerful than Maleficent. My name is MJ, and I shall be your new leader."

"Why should we listen to you? You're just a kid!" Someone shouted.

Manny waved his hand and the dark clouds that filled the sky disappeared. As the sun shone down on them the crowd looked around them in awe. "The Isle will prosper under my rule and will be the best it has been in the last thirty eight years." MJ announced.

The crowd looked back up at the young man. They were amazed, but also fearful of him, he had magic, something no one was supposed to possess on the island.

"Down with Auradon!" Another person yelled. "All hail MJ, ruler of the Isle of the Lost!" The crowd all bowed to him. MJ looked over the entire group and smiled, standing a bit straighter. Being evil wasn't bad, it wasn't bad at all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is the next chapter of Embracing the Darkness. The OC Meghan is Anonymousette, the OC's Piers, Alan, Quaid, Rayner, Grace, Erik, Manny/MJ, Warner, and Marty are mine, and everything else is Disney's. I hope you all enjoy this. **

Chapter 4

Meghan scanned the hallway, making sure that no one was coming. She walked into the room, Manny's bedroom. It felt weird to her to be in there now. Meghan looked around the moment, nothing had been moved since the morning they had found that Manny had disappeared, it was just waiting for him to return. On his dresser sat the tank that housed Manny's turtle. Meghan knew that someone had been sneaking into the room everyday to take care of the turtle, since her parents refused to enter the room and banned Rayner and herself from entering as well.

"Hey there Solitaire. I know you miss Manny, I miss him too, but-" Meghan started.

"Meghan?" Mal questioned. "What are you doing in here?"

Meghan sighed, knowing she's been caught. "Nothing." Mal gave her a look. "I was going to move Solitaire to my room." Meghan sat on the bed, looking at her hands. "It's been a month, and there is still no sign of him. I miss him."

Mal sat next to Meghan and put an arm around her, bringing her close. "I know, I miss him too, everyone does, but it's not over."

"Why did he leave?" Meghan cried.

"I don't know, my dear." Mal said. The two sat there awhile, mother comforting daughter as she cried. "How about this Meggie, Solitaire needs someone to care for him, so why don't we move him to your room like you wanted."

Meghan smiled. "I'll take good care of him till Manny returns."

"I have no doubt that you will." Mal told her. Together Mal and Meghan carefully transported Solitaire and all his things from Manny's room to Meghan's.

Ben sat at his desk looking at a map of the kingdom. It was marked with numerous red X's to signify where the royal guard had searched and searched again for Manny. He was angry, not at his son for leaving, never would that happen, but that there was no clue to where he was, not a single sighting had been reported.

The spot that seemed to be the most obvious for Manny to run to was the Isle of the Lost, and that's what Ben believed had happened, so that had been the place that had been searched the most, but that came up unfruitful.

"He's out there, somewhere." Ben mumbled. The King looked at the framed photograph on his desk. It was of himself, Mal, and their children. It had been taken over the summer before school started. Manny looked so happy then, Ben had no idea how unhappy his son had become only a few weeks after that photo was taken. "I will find you, Manny, no matter how long it takes me."

A short time later Piers was at school. He had a hard time coping with the fact that Manny, his best friend, was gone. Alan had left him and Quaid alone for the most part since Manny had left, with the exception of some small comments in passing. Piers had learned to ignore Alan after years of knowing him, so when Alan would say things, Piers just let it go.

Piers was walking to class when Alan came up beside him. "Where's your little friend today, Piers?" Alan asked.

Something changed in Piers, he lost his calm demeanor. He turned quickly and punched Alan in the face. The two boys started a fist fight in the hallway. Some other students gathered around to watch. Quaid ran over and pulled Piers away.

"He's gone because of you!" Piers yelled. Alan glared at him with a smirk.

Before anything else could happen, Mr. Davis came to break it up. "Alan, Piers, come with me. Everyone else get to class." Everyone dispersed and Alan and Piers followed Mr. Davis to Jane's office.

Jane asked each of them their side of the story. Alan said he did nothing and Piers attacked him out of nowhere. Piers said that Alan had said something that annoyed him and that is how the fight started. Jane thought for a moment. She didn't think that Alan was telling the truth, but she also thought that Piers was keeping something from her.

She looked at the two boys who sat opposite her. She came to the conclusion that Alan would be suspended for three days and Piers would be suspended for a week, since he started the fight.

Pinocchio was not angry, but he didn't take kindly to having to pick up his son. The car ride home was silent. Piers sat, looking out the window.

Piers began to go upstairs once they got home. "Do you want to talk about it?" Pinocchio inquired.

"No." Piers answered, heading upstairs.

"Okay, I'll be here if you change your mind." Pinocchio told him.

Hours passed and Piers hadn't come out. Pinocchio could tell that something was bothering his son, but he wouldn't push. For dinner it was just Piers and his dad because his mom was off in Charmington working with Snow White.

"I want to talk about it." Piers stated. Pinocchio nodded. "I need to talk to the King and Queen." Pinocchio was confused, but listened as Piers explained.

"Tomorrow I will take you to the castle." Pinocchio promised.

The next day Piers went to the castle. Mal and Ben were very kind and agreed to meet with him. "Thank you for seeing me, I know this has been a challenging time for you all, it's been hard for me too."

"We know how close you and Manny were." Ben replied.

"About that, I don't think I was a very good friend. Since the beginning of the school year Manny had been bullied by Alan Charming. Manny was like all bully victims, he didn't want to say anything, but I could have. I didn't give him the help he needed, and now he's gone." Piers couldn't look at the couple, so he looked at the ground.

"Thank you for telling us." Mal thanked. "We had no idea."

Piers nodded. "You're welcome, Your Majesty's, I'm glad I could be of service."

Piers started to leave when Mal called after him. "You were a great friend to Manny, and this is not your fault, remember that."

Piers smiled. "I will." After Piers went back to the car.

"Did it go well?" Pinocchio questioned.

"Yeah, and I feel better." Piers told him.

Soon it was the middle of June and Manny had been missing for six months. Although Manny was never far from anyone's thoughts, it was a big day for his older brother. Rayner had graduated from high school two weeks earlier and was now going to succeed his father as King of Auradon.

The carriage that Rayner and his girlfriend, Grace, were riding in came to a stop outside the cathedral. The two climbed the stairs to meet with the prince's family.

"I remember over 17 years ago when you were just a little baby at my coronation." Ben reminisced. "You've grown so much, I'm proud to pass the crown on to you."

"Thanks, Dad." Rayner said.

"I know we make fun of each other quite a bit, but I mean it when I say you're going to be an amazing king." Meghan complimented. Rayner smiled.

"Congratulations Ray." Mal told him. The two shared a hug.

Mal, Ben, and Meghan walked away to go find their places. "See you later, Your Majesty." Grace waved.

"See you." Rayner repeated. Grace was led away by one of the attendants.

Rayner walked up the rest of the stairs, pausing momentarily as he waited for the doors to open. The choir began to sing while Rayner made his way down the aisle. He glanced at Grace, his best friend, Erik, and his other friends when he passed them.

Fairy Godmother took the crown off of Ben's head and put it on Rayner's after he kneeled on the floor. After getting her wand, Fairy Godmother addressed Rayner. "Do you solemnly swear to govern the peoples of Auradon with justice and mercy as long as you shall reign?"

"I do solemnly swear." Rayner promised.

Fairy Godmother smiled and tapped each of Rayners shoulders with the wand. "Then it is my honor and my joy to bless our new king." Rayner stood and faced the crowd with a smile as they cheered.

In Bargain Castle on the Isle of Lost, MJ, Warner, and Marty were watching the coronation. "Congratulations, Rayner." MJ whispered. Even though MJ wouldn't admit it, he was proud of his older brother.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here is a new chapter of Embracing the Darkness. The OC's MJ, Warner, Marty, Rayner, Erik, and Piers are mine. Everything else is Disney's. This story is going to be short, only a chapter or two left, I think. I hope you all enjoy this. **

Chapter 5

Eight years had passed and true to his word, the Isle prospered under MJ's rule. The food was normal, not rotton like it was before. The buildings were safer and the Isle was cleaner in general.

Warner had been surprised that MJ was able to accomplish as much as he has. He walked into the living room of Bargain Castle to find MJ watching the news. Warner sat next to his friend and saw the tears fall down his face. Warner was surprised, in the eight years he has known MJ he never once saw him show sadness, let alone cry.

Warner glanced over at the TV screen to see what the news story was. There in large letters read:

MALEFICENT HAS DIED

Of course, the person MJ has looked up to most, his grandmother, has died. "I-I'm-" Warner started.

"I'm going for a walk. I'll be back later." MJ said, getting up and leaving. Hours passed and MJ had yet to return. Warner paced back and forth, wondering where MJ was. Suddenly, MJ burst through the doors and ran up the stairs to where Warner and Marty were.

"I have an idea." He exclaimed. "I'm going to do what my grandmother never could. I'm going to take over Auradon." MJ and the other two gathered around the table as MJ unrolled a map of the kingdom.

MJ explained to them his plan. "Here is the Isle. The best way to go is to History Island, since not many people live there, it will be easy to take control of. From there the royal guard will think that we would cross the bridge into Auroria, but instead we will continue to Skull Rock, and then continue taking the border islands. They will be the least protected."

"I don't think this is such a good idea." Marty told MJ.

"Shut up, Martin!" MJ yelled. "I don't care what you think. This is going to be done my way." Marty backed off, obviously afraid of his much younger nephew.

"From Magic Island, our army will enter the mainland through the Sea of Ariel, north of the Great Wall." MJ pointed to the small island, tracing the path.

"Wouldn't we enter through Hook's Bay, south of the Great Wall?" Warner asked.

"No, north of the wall has less people, and almost none of the royal guard, our army will only have to fight the regions militia, which is never very large." MJ answered. "You will be in charge of this army, Warner, I shall stay here on the Isle, giving the commands of where to go and such. Once you reach the Great Wall, the second part of our army, led by me will enter through Cinderellasburg. Our armies will continue to take over the land, circling the capital city. Once our armies meet up, it'll be to big for the royal guard, we will conquer the city, overthrow the king, and Auradon will be ours."

"How will you tell me what to do from the Isle, and how will you know when I reach the wall?" Warner questioned.

MJ whistled. A black raven flew into the room. "I've put a spell on Diablo, so he can get through the barrier with no problem. He will be our messenger."

Warner nodded, taking in all the information. "Let's go get us an army."

Weeks have passed, and in Auradon Rayner and his fiance, Grace, entered the castle after having lunch in the city. Erik, Rayner's best friend and royal advisor, ran up to them. "You are needed immediately, it is a national emergency." Erik informed. He turned to Grace. "Excuse us Grace, the king is very busy."

Erik and Rayner rushed off to Rayner's office. "What's the emergency?" Rayner inquired.

"Auradon has been invaded." Erik stated.

"What do you mean by invaded?" Rayner asked.

"I mean, that History Island is no longer part of Auradon." Erik clarified.

"Have you summoned the captain of the royal guard?" Rayner wondered.

"Yes, he's on his way now." Erik confirmed.

Rayner sat at his desk, thinking about what they were going to do. He looked up when the door opened and Piers came in.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Piers." Rayner thanked.

"It was no problem, Your Majesty, how may I help?" Piers asked.

"We have a situation, someone has taken control of History Island." Rayner told him.

"Who would do that? Have they made any contact with you?" Piers questioned.

"We are assuming that this person is from the Isle of the Lost, since I can't think of a single person in Auradon who would do this. They have yet to make any contact with me, so your guess is as good as mine." Rayner explained.

"We need to figure out what to do next, so Captain, here is a map, and show us your plan." Erik handed Piers a map. Piers laid the map on the desk and looked at it for a moment. Rayner and Erik huddled around him.

"I would say this person is going to cross the bridge into Auroria, in South Riding, so I'll have my men there. We will be prepared if they put up a fight." Piers said.

"What about getting History Island back?" Rayner inquired.

"We have to be careful since the person we are dealing with is most likely from the Isle. Now, I can have a group of my soldiers go in and try to take the island back, but that's risky." Piers warned. "So I suggest that we wait till they enter Auroria, the royal guard will defeat them, and then we take back History Island."

"Okay, get on your way to Auroria." Rayner replied.

Warner and his army made their way to Neverland. Taking Skull Rock was easy, since no one lived there, MJ just wanted to have it as a base. Although he wouldn't confess to it, Warner was a bit nervous about the upcoming raid on Neverland. Neverland was not a small island like the others had been. It was an entire region of Auradon, they would put up a fight.

Before he could think anymore about it they made it to land. Warner swallowed his worries and left his office on the ship. Warner was a great leader, he knew how to command his army. Just as he had predicted there was a fight, but the Isle's army won in the end. When they got back to the ship, Warner sent a message to MJ saying that Neverland was theirs.

Piers found himself walking to Rayners office for the second time in a short timespan. He had been wrong when he told them that whoever this was was going to invade Auroria. Instead this person has taken all the border islands.

Piers entered the office and saw Erik and Rayner gathered around the desk. He assumed that they were looking at the map again, so he joined them. "What do you think this time, Captain?" Erik asked.

"They are currently on Magic Island, I believe that they will go for Towering Heights." Piers answered. "I'll set up the guard there."

"It's a plan then." Rayner smiled. "Oh, we have a name finally, MJ." Piers and Erik looked at him to elaborate. "Grace and some of the staff have reviewed the records we have of the Isle, not that it's much, and were not able to find anything of an MJ."

"It would help if there was a census of the Isle, like there is of Auradon." Erik stated.

Rayner looked out the window towards the Isle. "Yeah, it would." He mumbled.

Warner was in his office on the ship again. They were docked at Magic Island, awaiting MJ's instructions of what to do next. Diablo cawed, getting Warner's attention. The raven dropped a note in front of him before resting on the desk. Warner grinned as he read it.

Great job, Warner. On to the mainland now. Inform me when you get there. Auradon has no idea of what's coming. MJ.


	6. Chapter 6

**Here is a new chapter of Embracing the Darkness. The OC's MJ, Rayner, Piers, Warner, Erik, and Grace are mine. The OC Meghan is Anonymousette's, and everything else is Disney's. I hope you all enjoy. **

Chapter 6

Regions of Auradon continued to fall to Warner. After taking the last region north of the Great Wall, the army marched towards the south. Knowing this, MJ and the other Isle residents set out towards Auradon. Cinderellasberg was the closest, so that was where they were going. MJ was excited, he was finally getting his revenge on Alan, for everything he did. After defeating Cinderellasberg, the army would go on to Auroria and Westerly. They would circle around the capital city and render the royal guard useless. MJ was convinced his plan would work. After a few days and a couple battles, MJ, Warner, and the army had the majority of the kingdom and were marching towards the capital.

Piers was stressed out. He was not prepared for an invasion of Auradon, especially no one like this. He let it get out of hand, and he didn't know what to do anymore. Piers found himself standing outside of the house of his mentor, waiting for him to answer the door.

A man answered the door with a smile. He looked young and fit, but the cane he was leaning on said otherwise. "Hi Piers." Jay greeted him.

"I need your help." Piers informed. "I am a terrible captain."

"Come on in." Jay led Piers to his living room.

"Why did you pick me to succeed you? It's the worst decision you've made in your entire life. You probably have regretted it since that day." Piers rambled.

Jay sat in a chair, listening to Piers's degrading speech. "Are you done?" He asked. Piers nodded. Jay sighed, thinking of the best way to phrase his words. "I didn't pick you at random, Piers. It wasn't like the day I had to step down I was like 'umm…Piers will be the next captain.' I picked you the day you entered the royal guard, back when you were eighteen years old."

"Really?" Piers was surprised.

"And I trained you for the job to the best of my ability. I don't have magic though, I couldn't foresee these current events." Jay said.

"I know, this is unprecedented." Piers replied. "I have no idea what to do."

"What did I teach you to do?" Jay questioned.

"To think before freaking out." Piers answered.

"And.." Jay prompted.

"To talk with another person." Piers added.

Jay leaned back in his chair. "So, tell me about what's going on."

"Well," Piers began. "Auradon has been invaded and the villains have been very successful. Whoever is behind this obviously has some vast knowledge of Auradon geography and military strategy. This army bounces around so much it puts Jiminy Cricket to shame."

"What do you think they are going to do next?" Jay inquired.

"They are going to try to take Auradon City. Then they can overthrow the king and take Auradon for themselves." Piers explained.

"What are you going to do about it?" Jay wondered.

"I'm going to protect Auradon City. I won't let them gain another victory." Piers told him. "I wish I could be like the king, he's so relaxed."

"I know Rayner, he's as worried as you are, he just doesn't want to show it."

Piers smiled. "Thanks for the advice, Jay, I've got to go get my men prepared for the fight of their lives." He started to leave.

"Piers!" Jay called. The younger man returned. "Be careful, you don't want to be like me and have your entire career ruined by one little mistake."

"I'll be careful." Piers promised. "See you soon." Jay saluted, his way of saying goodbye. Piers felt better, but he had a lot of work ahead of him.

Warner was proud. His part of the army was making their way from the Great Wall to the city. To him, nothing could stand in their way, but he was dead wrong.

Rayner stood by the window in his office, looking out over the moonlit land. He was deep in thought, which was interrupted by a hand on his arm. "I'm heading home now, you should get some sleep." Grace told him.

"I can't, Auradon needs its king." Rayner said.

"Auradon needs a king who can make the right decisions. You have barely slept in weeks, Ray, it's not good." Grace reminded.

"I can't keep making these choices on my own, Grace!" Rayner yelled. He paced back and forth. "I need-" Suddenly he got an idea.

"What? What are you going to do?" Grace asked.

"The advisory board." Rayner whispered. "The King's Advisory Board of Trustees. If they can't help me, no one can."

"Tomorrow you call them into a meeting, tonight you sleep." Grace said.

"Fine." Rayner agreed. "But, can you come to the meeting, I want to have you by my side."

"Of course." Grace kissed him on the cheek. "Good night, Ray."

"Night." Rayner waved, heading off to bed.

Swords clashed, and MJ felt his power leave him. All he had to do was win and Auradon was his, but MJ knew that he couldn't. MJ used all his might to push against his opponent. "Come back Manny, it doesn't have to be this way." The rival said. His eyes widened and he fell backwards.

MJ jolted awake. He was breathing hard so he took a few minutes to calm down. In the dream he showed weakness at the slightest mention of his past, something that he could not show tomorrow. The army was about a day away from Auradon City. Tomorrow was a big day, he would take his brother's place as king, but for now they were camped out. MJ knew he didn't just have a dream, it was a vision of the future, and once a person sees their future it is very hard to change.

Rayner sat at the head of a long table. To his left was Grace, and to his right was Erik. The advisory board and Piers filled in the rest of the chairs. Ben, Mal, Evie, Doug, Jay, Lonnie, Carlos, Jane, and Meghan, the people Rayner trusted most in life. They were talking about this MJ person.

"This person has a surprising amount of knowledge about Auradon." Erik told them. "Even more than the majority of mainland citizens."

"Geography and military strategy, isn't that right Piers?" Jay remembered.

"Yeah, that's how they have been able to evade our every move. They know how the guard works and moves." Piers explained.

"That kind of information is not stuff that is taught on the Isle, and I highly doubt that it's changed." Mal said.

"This invasion clearly has months of planning behind it." Doug pointed out.

"What happened a few months ago that would cause this?" Grace questioned.

The group thought about it for a moment. "Maleficent died." Jane recalled.

"The Isle lost someone that was very important to them that day." Evie added.

"Maybe they are avenging her death or something like that." Meghan suggested.

"They must have been on the Isle for a long time, in order to gather an army that size." Lonnie

As the group continued to discuss, Rayner was chewing on the end of his pen, thinking about everything. "MJ...MJ..." He thought. "MJ!"

Suddenly all the pieces fell together for him. Rayner jumped up. "Piers, may I see you alone, please?" Rayner requested. "Thank you all for the help. This meeting is adjourned." Rayner left the room and Piers quickly followed. Everyone else was very confused.

When he got to his office, Rayner ran to his desk. He quickly wrote a note to MJ, asking him to meet him at one o'clock on Silver Mountain. Signing it and folding it up, Rayner handed the note to Piers. "I need you to go to the front lines and deliver this to MJ, don't do anything else, no matter how much you may want to. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, right away." Piers said.

Soon, Piers was meeting the infamous MJ and handing him the note. He didn't seem to realize that he was face to face again with his old friend, but MJ was surprised to see him, although he knew he couldn't do anything about it. "King Rayner has sent this for you."

MJ took the note, silently reading it. He smiled. "Tell your king I accept his invitation, and will see him in a few hours." Piers nodded, turning to leave. MJ went the other way, he had to finish up some things before meeting with Rayner.


	7. Chapter 7

**Here is the last chapter of Embracing the Darkness. I hope everyone enjoyed reading this story. The OC's MJ/Manny, Rayner, Warner, Piers, Grace, Erik, and Marty are all mine. The OC Meghan is Anonymousette's, thank you so much for letting me use her, and everything else is Disney's. **

Chapter 7

MJ made his way back to the base. Although by all appearances he was calm and collected, inside MJ was nervous. The dream, or vision, he had flashed in front of his eyes. No, nothing would happen to him during this confrontation, especially with his brother. Nevertheless he sat at a desk with a piece of paper and pen in front of him.

_I, Prince Manning John of the Kingdom of the United States of Auradon, with sound mind and body, leave all my worldly possessions to Mr. Warner Ratcliffe-Tremaine. This includes, but is not limited to, Bargain Castle and my title of Ruler of the Isle of the Lost. The Isle needs a leader, and my right hand man is the best option. Also, my uncle, Mr. Martin J. Faery, shall continue to reside in Bargain Castle as long as he lives on the Isle of the Lost. This shall take effect in the case of my death. _

When he had finished, MJ signed and dated the document. He sent it off with Diablo to deliver it to Warner. Now it was time to go to Silver Mountain. When he arrived, he was the only one there, so he waited, knowing that Rayner would be there soon.

After hours of getting ready and nervously pacing his office, Rayner found himself at the bottom of Silver Mountain. With his sword in hand, just in case it was needed, Rayner hiked up the mountain. When he got to the top, he found him, his brother. MJ had his back turned to him and was looking down at the village below them.

"MJ!" Rayner called out.

MJ turned around. "Good afternoon , Your Majesty."

"It's been a long time." Rayner said.

"King Rayner, I don't think you understand my end goal here." MJ told him.

"And I don't think you understand mine. Come home!" Rayner pleaded. "Your family and friends have missed you. We're not angry with you, we forgive you."

"I don't want your forgiveness!" MJ yelled. "I don't apologize for anything. My life on the Isle has been better than my life in Auradon had ever been." Rayner stepped forward getting closer to MJ. "And once I get rid of you, nothing will be in my way from taking over Auradon."

Rayner was scared for a moment, he never thought that his own brother would be the one who tried to harm him. "There are many people that will not let that happen, even if I can't."

MJ made the first move, swinging his sword at Rayner. Rayner was able to block it quickly. "I don't want to fight you." He said.

MJ smiled. "Well, that makes my job a lot easier."

"But I will defend my kingdom." Rayner went on. "And if that means having to battle you, I will."

"Fine, if you say so." MJ swung again at Rayner. The two continued to duel, going back and forth. It was a pretty fair fight. MJ had spent years facing off with pirates and others on the Isle, and Rayner had had many, many ROAR lessons with Jay and Lonnie.

Swords clashed, and MJ felt his power leave him. All he had to do was win and Auradon was his, but MJ knew that he couldn't. MJ used all his might to push against Rayner.

"Come back Manny, it doesn't have to be this way." Rayner said through gritted teeth. MJ's eyes widened and he fell backwards.

"What have I done?" MJ mumbled.

"Are you okay?" Rayner asked. MJ looked up at Rayner, and the young king saw someone he truly hadn't in a long time.

MJ quickly got up and paced around, he was clearly worried. "Manny, it's okay." Rayner assured him.

"You know that isn't true." MJ shouted. "The Isle was created to stop the villains from taking over Auradon, but I have. I've failed, I can't go back there."

"Calm down, we can work through this together. Mom and Dad and Meghan can help." Rayner said.

"No, I know what I have to do." MJ declared.

"Manny, we forgive you, everyone does." Rayner tried.

"I've made my choices in life, and I've made this one. I just want to be good, especially now that I'm at the end of the road." MJ explained.

"You are good, you always have been, even when the evil clouded your thoughts." Rayner replied.

MJ smiled and started to float in the air. "Thank you, Ray, for everything, but it's time to let me go."

"Manny-" Rayner bagan.

"Goodbye Rayner." MJ floated higher into the air and vanished. His black cape fluttered to the ground. Rayner fell to his knees, clutching the cape in his fists, and cried.

It felt like hours had passed. Eventually Rayner made his way down the mountain and to the castle. When he got there Mal, Ben, and Meghan were waiting for him. He walked up to Mal. "I'm sorry Mom, I tried, but-" he started.

"I know." Mal hugged him. "I know." The rest of the family joined in on the hug.

Warner was a good leader, but without MJ's help, it was only a matter of time till they got captured. Piers and the royal guard met the army at the border of the capital city.

"Warner Ratcliffe-Tremaine, you are under arrest for treason against the Kingdom of Auradon." Piers announced. Warner had no choice but to cooperate. All of the army was sent back to the Isle, but Warner was being held at the Auradon jail to await trial.

One day, Piers decided to visit Warner. Since Piers had found out that MJ was actually Manny, he was wondering what had happened to him after he left Auradon, but since MJ was no longer around, Warner was the next best thing.

"What did you do to him?" Piers asked.

"Me? What did I do?" Warner repeated. "I did nothing to him, this entire attack was his idea."

"What were you to him? Why do you know each other?" Piers questioned.

"I was his right hand man." Warner answered.

"His sidekick." Piers clarified.

"I am not a sidekick!" Warner yelled. "But I was his only friend for the past eight years, so I would say MJ viewed me as his best friend." He smirked, knowing he touched a nerve with Piers.

"I am Manny's best friend." Piers stated.

"I don't think so, I mean he abandoned you after only a few months, we've been working together for much longer than that." Warner explained. "And look at his will, I'm the sole recipient." Warner put the piece of paper through the bars of his cell.

"Give me that." Piers said. He grabbed the paper from Warner and left.

Later Piers was in Rayner's office with him and Erik. "Warner had it, I don't know if it's real or what." Piers finished explaining. The three of them were looking at Manny's will.

"It doesn't have the official Auradon seal, it's not notarized, it's not legai." Erik told them.

Rayner leaned back in his chair and sighed. "It's legal." The other two looked at him, clearly confused. "Manny obviously had willful intent when writing this, meaning even though it hasn't been notarized it is his legal will."

"Well then, that brings us to our second issue, what to do with Warner." Piers said.

"He'll have his trial, be found guilty, and go to jail. Easy as that." Erik listed off.

"I don't think that jail time is the best option here." Rayner replied. "I think that he needs some rehabilitation."

"What do we do then?" Erik inquired.

Piers smiled. "I know exactly what to do."

Piers went back to the jail to talk with Warner again. "Came to visit me again?" Warner asked.

"I've come with an offer." Piers informed him.

"No." Warner declined. "I have to get back to the Isle."

"Well that's not going to happen, so you can either sit in here, for the rest of your life most likely, or you can serve under me in the royal guard." Piers explained. Warner remained silent. "My offer stands for a week. With that he left. Piers was not surprised when a week later Warner agreed to his offer and became a member of the royal guard.

A few months had passed and everything seemed fine. All of Auradon was restored under the crown and everyone went on with their lives, it's what Manny would have wanted. They had a small funeral for him. Because Warner could not accept his position as the new leader of the Isle of the Lost, Marty took over and ruled the island with the hope that in time the villains and their families could learn to choose good over evil. A big day had come for the royal family, and Manny was still never far from their thoughts, but the day finally came, Rayner and Grace's wedding day.

Gil walked his daughter down the aisle and the happy couple exchanged their vows. "Do you, Lady Grace, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish from this day forward until death do you part?" The pastor questioned.

Grace smiled. "I do."

"Do you, King Rayner, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish from this day forward until death do you part?" The pastor asked.

"I do." Rayner promised.

"By the power vested in me by the Kingdom of Auradon, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." The pastor announced. Grace and Rayner shared a kiss, happy to finally be married to each other.

Life is made up of choices, good ones and bad ones, but the most important thing is to embrace all parts of oneself.

The End.


End file.
